Galicia is winning the battle against forest blazes

24 August 2005

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA — Firefighters were beginning to bring a series of forest fires in north-western Spain under control.

Fire authorities in Galicia were battling against just six blazes and had brought another 23 under control.

A state of red alert was still in place near the blaze in Carnota, where firefighters and planes dropping water were being used to try put it out.

Other fires were still going in Lousame and Pobra, in the region of La Coruna.

Meanwhile, in the region of Ourense, there were still other forest fires in Oimbra and in Pontevedra, firefighters were battling blazes in A Cañiza, Figueirido and a minor blaze had died down in Tuy.

But in northern Portugal the situation was much worse, with five blazes out of control.

The worse was near the historic city of Coimbra.  Up to 1,500 firefighters have been drafted into the area to try to battle the summer fires.

It emerged that police arrest 99 people for intentionally starting more than 800 forest fires during the driest summer in Spain for 60 years.

Police said a total of 829 fires had been started during the summer, 125 of these were intentional.

Between January and June, 277 people were arrested on suspicion of starting forest fires.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news